India’s law reform committee okays cryptocurrency as mode of payment

The India’s law reform committee had already accept cryptocurrency as a valid mode of payment.

India’s embattled cryptocurrency ecosystem may have just got a lifeline from another contentious debate: whether or not to legalise sports betting in the country.

The law commission of India, which has been studying the feasibility of sports gambling, has clubbed virtual currency with other legally accepted modes of payments.

Further, these methods used for settling online transactions can also be used for betting on sports if and when made legal, it said.

“Gambling transactions should be made cashless, making use of electronic means of payment such as credit cards, debit cards, net-banking, virtual currencies (VC, or cryptocurrency), etc.,” the commission had recommended in its report submitted to the supreme court of India earlier this month (pdf).

The law commission is an executive advisory body established by the government and was asked by the apex court in July 2016 to examine if betting ought to be legalised in India.

“It is the first time that a body appointed by the government has given recognition to virtual currencies that they have value and can be used for a transaction,” Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO of virtual currency exchange WazirX, told Quartz.

“Therefore, it is a very positive sign, especially considering the report has come out after a lot of deliberation.”